


Like, A Date?

by saltylikecrait



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol, Awkward Dates, Awkwardness, Crushes, F/F, Finn's a shipper on deck, First Dates, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23571244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: Maneuvering through dating customs is hard. For an ex-stormtrooper, it can be downright confusing.
Relationships: Finn & Jannah (Star Wars), Jannah/Rose Tico
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	Like, A Date?

Ajan Kloss was a world full of beauty. Jannah almost forgot how beautiful many places could be. Life in the First Order hadn’t taught her how to appreciate the natural, she had to learn that on her own.

This was her first time on a proper Resistance base, making it feel all the more official to her. She was part of something better than the First Order – an organization trying to takedown the remains of the very people who raised her to be a soldier.

As she walked down the ramp of the Resistance shuttle, Jannah found herself distracted by everything in sight. There was so much going on between the unusual wildlife singing in the trees to the activity around the base. She stopped to watch a group of volunteers run past the shuttle, together, but not in unison like the First Order had preferred.

A group of mechanics stood around a grounded A-wing, watching one of their own give a lecture about repair. She glanced over at them, trying to get a look at what they were doing. A petite woman was in the center of the group, holding up some sort of tool while addressing her team. She couldn’t get a clear view of the woman, but she could see she wore her black hair in a ponytail and her beige worksuit had a marking on the left chest pocket to show she held rank. Jannah thought the woman looked familiar, but she had encountered so many Resistance members in passing, she couldn’t be sure if she was just imagining things or not.

“Jannah,” a voice called behind her. She turned around to see General Calrissian standing a few feet away from her. “Welcome to Ajan Kloss.”

She looked back at the engineering group one more time before walking over to the general.

* * *

Standing next to General Finn, Jannah listened in to a rundown of what First Order activity the Resistance was tracking when the engineer leader reappeared.

“Oh,” Finn stopped mid-sentence. “Rose, have you met Jannah yet?”

Their eyes locked. Suddenly, Jannah felt at loss for words, which was a rarity for her. She swallowed before she held out her hand, heart beating a bit harder than normal.

“Nice to meet you.”

The other woman took her hand with a smile. “We briefly encountered each other on Exegol, but it’s nice to meet you in person. I’m the head of the Engineering Corps.”

_That’s why she looked familiar,_ Jannah thought. She must have seen her then, but never got a chance to really look at her.

Still, the explanation didn’t make it clear why her heart was still fluttering in her chest.

The whole meeting, she tried to pay as much attention to Finn, Lando, and Poe, but she kept finding her gaze drifting towards the other woman. Rose was a quiet presence, but Jannah found there was strength within the woman too.

After that, the two ran into each other on base more frequently, exchanging shy smiles and chatter about whatever latest news came to their ears. She learned that Rose was a talented mind with recycled parts and gained a fondness for animals through her deceased sister – a hero of the Resistance herself.

“Hey, I was wondering…” Rose began but hesitated for a moment.

“Yeah?” Jannah asked.

Rose took a deep breath. “I was wondering… would you like to get a drink tonight? You probably know the cantina isn’t anything special, but it might be nice and-"

Laughing, Jannah stopped her. “Breathe, Rose. I would love to.”

She exhaled and beamed. “Great. Find you at 1900 hours?”

“Sounds good!” 

As excited as she was, Jannah tried to keep her thoughts about the evening to the back of her mind. She had things to do, Resistances to plan for. Still, she couldn’t quite keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upward. 

“You look happy,” Finn observed as they were looking over terrain maps together. “What’s up?”

“Hmm? Oh. Umm… I’m just looking forward to this evening,” she answered. “Rose and I are getting drinks.”

“Like a date?” His eyebrows arched.

Jannah felt her heart race. Was it a date? Rose didn’t indicate it as any more than a friendly get-together, though her nerves implied there was something more to it. She might not have a ton of experience with attraction, but Jannah knew when someone wasn’t acting like they were only interested in being friends. She knew they both snuck glances when the other wasn’t looking, thinking they were being sneaky. If she was being honest with herself, she was hoping this was exactly what the evening was supposed to be.

“I dunno…” she admitted.

Finn’s eyes widened. “Really? The way you two are always around each other, I thought… Well, I guess I shouldn’t assume…” He looked embarrassed. 

“It’s all right,” she told him. “I kind of hope that’s what it is.” She felt her cheeks warm.

“I hope you two hit it off then,” he chuckled. “Hope you don’t mind… but I think you make a nice couple.”

If it were possible, Jannah’s skin felt hotter from the teasing, but well-meaning smile Finn shot her.

* * *

She waited outside when the time drew near, walking around the area of the hangar closest to the command center. While she doubted Rose would miss her, she didn’t want to make her walk around to look for her.

Rose didn’t keep her waiting long. A few minutes before their set meeting time, she wandered out into the hangar, looking for Jannah. 

When they spotted each other, Rose waved warmly to her. Jannah couldn’t help but wave back enthusiastically. 

“I was so worried I was going to be held up,” Rose confessed when she got withing hearing range. “Thank goodness for Finn. He knew we were meeting up and ran in to cut Poe short.”

Jannah made a mental note to thank Finn when she saw him next.

“Still up for drinks, then?” she asked.

“Of course!” Then, Rose paused. “Could we… go for a walk first? I’ve been hunched over all day.”

“Sure.” Jannah didn’t mind. She understood how a day of hard work could be on the back. Engineers and mechanics probably had the worst time for that. “Where to?”

Rose looked around. “Rey’s training grounds, maybe?” It was one of the cleared areas of the jungle, not known for housing anything dangerous, though the Resistance was encouraged to carry blasters if they had to go out into the flora, just in case. Rey kept the area well-traveled, especially now that she wasn’t the only one training there. She and Finn wanted to make sure they were safe to train without running into too many problems during exercises. They needed to concentrate if they wanted full control of the Force… or, that’s what Jannah assumed anyway.

They headed over in that direction, taking the time to appreciate the nature around them. 

“Hayes Minor wasn’t quite this beautiful,” Rose told her. “It was icy most of the time.”

“Is that where you’re from?” Jannah asked. 

She nodded. “Yeah, I lived there most of my life. I thought I was going to drive ore diggers for a living. That’s what a lot of us did. My parents got my sister and I out when the First Order… Well, they didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry.” Jannah didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry about your sister too.”

“She died a hero,” Rose replied. “The Resistance would have fallen on D’Qar if it weren’t for her.” She said this proudly, but Jannah knew pain when she saw it. Some wounds would never heal.

“Does it bother you,” Jannah swallowed thickly before she continued, “that I was a stormtrooper, I mean?”

Rose shook her head. “You were brave to leave. Finn too. We wouldn’t have been able to defeat the First Order without you two.”

“Oh, I don’t know…”

“It’s true!” Rose grabbed her hand suddenly, the brush of skin feeling like an electrical tide down Jannah’s arm. “Finn helped us destroy Starkiller. You helped us defeat the fleet on Exegol.”

Once again, Jannah didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” she whispered.

They paused for a moment, staring at each other, until Jannah felt herself blink and looked down at their linked hands before she looked back up at Rose. 

Face flushing pink, Rose scrambled to let go. “S-sorry,” she stammered.

“It’s all right,” Jannah assured her.

They kept walking forward, before making a loop at a crevasse they couldn’t cross and heading back to camp. When they returned, nothing really happened in the time they were gone.

The cantina was really a makeshift counter with upturned crates situated around it for seating. A few of the pilots had cut down logs and thatched together a roof of straw and leaves to give it more of a “tropical” aesthetic. It still looked a lot nicer than the bars the First Order had, with far more personality than durasteel walls and cold, uncaring metallic furnishings. Being a lowly stormtrooper, Jannah had never been allowed in those. The bars were strictly for commanding officers.

She would bet that even without a proper bartender, the drinks were better too. Resistance members with some experience in mixing drinks volunteered when they wanted, though the alcohol was locked away when unattended. Poe was concerned about drunk Resistance members working on machinery, flying starfighters, and shooting. 

Tonight, a human man named Imrie was bartending. They told him what kind of drinks they liked and he made up something for them.

Rose was given something green that smelled tropical under the alcohol. Jannah, meanwhile, found herself with something called Jet Juice. She was almost afraid to ask what was in it, but when she took her first sip, she found herself tasting flavors of citrus with a slight kick to it. She liked it.

“So how’d you end up with the Resistance after you fled Hayes Minor?” She tried to pick up the conversation where they left off.

“Our parents told us to find them,” Rose explained. “But we knew the First Order was looking for us, so we had to lay low while also trying to find an in. We got lucky and found a Mon Calamari crew that knew how to find Ackbar.” Her face fell. “I miss him too.”

Jannah felt like she was bringing up too many bad memories for Rose and worried she would make her upset. “Was it hard to adjust?” she asked, one final question on her mind.

“A little,” Rose admitted before she looked Jannah straight in the eyes. “I bet it was hard for you, right?”

She was reminded of the days after Exegol when she was starting to get used to life on a Resistance base. Finn had jumped into his new role as a co-general, but quietly retreated when he was done for the day, taking solace with his friends Rey and Poe. Particularly with Rey, who he had feared for dead back during the battle. Jannah didn’t blame him for wanting to be close to his friends after all they had been through, but she didn’t know many of the other Resistance members back then and felt at loss of where to go.

“It was a bit rough,” she agreed. “I wasn’t sure you would trust a former stormtrooper. I didn’t know Finn was a defector at first either.”

“You two are a lot alike.” Rose smiled when she said this. “Both brave; both good people.”

“You think I’m _good?”_ No one had ever described Jannah like that before. 

“Yeah.” The smile Rose gave her was genuine.

Her heart began to beat just a little faster. Was it getting warm? Warmer than usual?

“We should… get together like this more often. I like our date.” She hadn’t meant to use the D-word, but it came out on accident. Jannah mentally kicked herself.

Rose was mid-sip when she said this, and the moment the word was uttered, she spluttered, her drink dribbling a little out of her mouth and down her shirt. Jannah gasped and looked around for anything that could be used to wipe it away, but the only thing she could find was cloth rags someone probably left behind.

“Your shirt-"

“Is this a _date?”_ Rose gasped.

“I-" Jannah wasn’t sure how to answer. “If you want it to be…”

This was the moment everything could go wrong. She braced herself for rejection.

But it never came. Instead, she watched as Rose beamed at her.

“I’m glad you thought so too. I was hoping…”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So we’re on again soon?” Jannah tried not to sound too hopeful, but it was hard not to. Not when Rose was looking at her like that.

“Well, I’ll have to wash this shirt first, but I think soon would be a nice idea.”

The two women went quiet again, drinks forgotten as they stared at one another with smiles on their faces.


End file.
